JOE WISE INTERVIEW
George Babbitt Collection, 57-9a
SYNOPSIS OF THE TAPE
Oral History No. 57-9a George Babbitt Collection
Tape: 1
Narrator: Joe Wise
Interviewer: George Babbitt
Place: Nogales, Arizona
Side: A
As a young man Joe Wise lived about two years in Tucson then the capital of Arizona Territory, a dusty settlement of about 4,000, 90% of which were Mexicans. In 1886 he and his father went to a little settlement south of Tucson called Calabasas1 where they each claimed homesteads on a former Spanish land grant known as the Calabasas, Tumacacori, and Guebavi. The grant had been acquired from Francisco Aguilar, brother-in- law of the president of Sonora, by a Colonel Sykes on behalf of a Boston based syndicate known as The Calabasas Mining and Cattle Company. It consisted of 54,000 acres plus 90,000 additional acres of grazing rights, originally issued by the king of Spain in 1807 to the Tumacacori Indians. (2) Other parties contested the homestead claim and Wise fought it through the courts, finally succeeding 30 years later at the Supreme Court level. The Boston syndicate also bought the San Xavier mine.
Sykes was born in New York City of English parents, and years later became the father-in-law of Joe Wise. In 1878, Sykes arrived at to Colonel Clay Hooker's Sierra Bonita Ranch where he acquired some horses and drove his buggy over to Calabasas. There, Skyes laid out a townsite on a mile square grid and built a hotel in 1880. He ran a drift 800 feet under a hill at Calabasas, to be known as Gold Hill. And by the mid-1880's Calabasas had attracted a population of 2,000. Wise came to Calabasas in 1886. When the Boston syndicate acquired the grant they thought Calabasas would be on the Mexican border. But when surveyed for the Gadsden Purchase acquisition it proved to lie about 10 miles north.
The objective of Syke's promotional venture was to develop agriculture and mining. To promote the area a party unknown distributed a prospectus extolling the virtues of investing in Calabasas land. It showed an illustration of "niggers loading cotton bales onto a steamboat on the Santa Cruz River." Embarrassed by such outrageous claim, Col. Sykes advertised in the Tucson Star newspaper that he'd pay $3,000 to anyone who could prove he was the instigator. None did. Sykes had brought with him very competent people from the east and from San Francisco. But Calabasas failed to prosper since it did not turn out to be the port of entry into Mexico; the railroad connecting Benson with Calabasas and to Guaymas went into receivership. Sykes then promoted and built a railroad called the Calabasas, Tucson and Northern. Joe Wise describes Sykes as a wonderful promoter, once having extracted $40,000 from an investor in San Francisco entirely by telegraph without requiring a single face-to-face meeting to do so. Subsequently, the promoter found a mine in Colorado at American Gulch that turned into a bonanza of silver production. He sold it for $200,000. Then on to New York to try his hand in the stock market while his wife became a secretary for Horace Greeley, an unsuccessful presidential candidate. But, Sykes' luck ran out while playing the stock market, and he found himself entirely unable to pay his servants.
Apaches were a constant menace in southern Arizona. And Sykes came close to falling victim to them once while camping not far from Fort Crittenden. About sundown a lone prospector approached his camp and Sykes invited him to share his campsite for the night. But the prospector preferred solitude, camped apart, and early next morning a passing band of Apaches found and, murdered him.
Wise said he narrowly escaped Geronimo's Apache band twice in 1886. The first when Apaches killed his neighbor, Charles Owens just west of Calabasas. Owens and Al Peck were out castrating a bull when Apaches caught them, first shooting Owens' horse, then killing Owens. But, Peck escaped death when a Mexican riding with the Apache band recognized him and persuaded the Apaches not to kill him. However, the Apaches did kill Peck's wife, as well as their baby, who they grabbed by the feet and dashed out its brains against a wall. This attack happened in 1886. "The nigger soldiers from the 25th Infantry under General Miles recovered the bodies." The second scare was when roving Apaches coming from the Empire Ranch camped at a tunnel very near Wise's house when he worked his copper mine at Helvetia, however, they did not attack him. Wise remembers the recovery from the Apaches of the 12-year-old sister-in-law of Peck. Apaches had kidnapped her, and when that band later surrendered to Lt. Lawton at Cananea she ran out of the Apache camp into the arms of the soldiers. Apaches killed many people in Pima County, their raids often spanning an enormous area. One band killed a mailman between Ft. Crittenden and Camp Washington, then went into the Santa Ritas at Greaterville, and to the Whetstome Mountains where they murdered a woodchopper, and then rode south to the San Pedro River at Palominas near Naco--all in one day! Once, Wise wanted to catch a certain steer so he concealed himself near a water hole where his cattle often drank. While he waited, an Indian with a red headband came riding along, stopped, and motioned for Wise to come down. Wise didn't think he was visible but the Indian had spotted him. Wise approached. And the Indian showed him a paper that stated he was a scout out of Ft. Huachuca trying to pick up Geronimo's trail.
Joe Wise well remembers Pete Kitchen, the fearless pioneer rancher. He first met Kitchen in Tucson when he was 17 and both were broke. The pair decided money could be had by a loan, so they persuaded Dave Henderson's bank to advance them $300. They co-signed a note at 2% interest per month, each taking half the net proceeds after Henderson first deducted the interest. Pete Kitchen had come into the country just after the American conquest of Mexico in 1848, before the Gadsden Purchase. Kitchen established his ranch along Potrero Creek about 4 or 5 miles north of Nogales. Later, the Calabasas Mining and Cattle Company bought Kitchen's ranch to get him off the land grant they had just purchased. Wise said he negotiated with Kitchen for it. The price was agreed at $84,000. The buyer arranged for Tucson merchants, W. W. Williams and Lord, to serve as receiver of the property, and when Williams asked Kitchen how much land he had, Kitchen replied "wherever my cattle graze, that's my land." By diligently drinking and gambling Kitchen managed to run through it all in three years.
Wise also recalls Colonel Charles Posten, the "presidente"of Tubac. Posten was a friend of Col. Sykes, often staying at Sykes hotel in Calabasas; Sykes had a bar with good whiskey and Posten liked good whiskey. Most of the early day settlers supported the Confederacy, that is, until the California Column of Union soldiers arrived and ran them out. The Army accused a Mr. Mowry, operator of a mine at Harshaw, of selling lead for bullets to the Confederates, but apparently never punished him for it.
Joe Wise also filed a 20 acre claim at Celero (? sp.), an old hacienda and smelter once operated by the Spanish. Although President Arthur signed his patent for it, settlement of the Baca Float litigation later deprived him of the title.
Side: B
Wise remembers more about Pete Kitchen: Kitchen built a fort atop his house with rifle portholes and shot the Indians as they raided his ranch. After a raid, he would pull out arrows the Apaches had drilled between the ribs of his cattle. Kitchen and his hired hands also raised hogs and supplied bacon to Ft. Crittenden. He had a Mexican wife, Ronquero, but no children. In those days Kitchen and another family were the only Americans with courage enough to endure Apache raids. They were the Benedicts, Albert and his sons, John and Jim; Albert was also married to a Mexican woman. After Albert died, their daughter, Mary, was adopted by the Proctor family, and she later became the wife of Bill Greene of Cananea. The Benedict ranch was about 4 miles west over on the Santa Cruz River, and was acquired by the Sykes group at the same time they bought out Kitchen.
Wise expands his description of fighting to gain clear title to land: After the Sykes group bought the Calabasas, Tumacacori, and Guebavi land grant both Wise and his father established homesteads upon it, but they didn't know Sykes at that time. His father got President Benjamin Harrison to set up a private land court to settle claimants to the grant. And many there were--some 2,000 in New Mexico and about 14 in Arizona. Hearings were held in Tucson and at Santa Fe. Judge Reed from Iowa presided, and a favorable decision was obtained, so Wise re-filed his homestead. Just 30 days later the decision was vacated due to a ruling in the Baca Float case. And 200 settlers had to get off the Baca Float land. Wise says the whole affair was "absolutely a steal." The courts were completely controlled by U. S. Senator Joe Bailey and (President) Woodrow Wilson, both Southerners, who appointed all the judges and they were prejudiced against the settlers. "You could see the Confederate flags floating in the courts from Washington to Tucson, and Tucson to California in the Court of Appeals! And they wouldn't let us go to the Supreme Court so we were whipped," The settlers had thought once the Americans had cleared Mexicans from the land it was simply vacant, public land available for homesteading. In 1825, the Province of Durango, as administrator of all land comprising the present southwestern states, granted title to 99,289 acres to one Luis Maria Cabeza de Baca, an old setter of New Mexico.(3) But, in 1827 title to the same land was granted to the town of Las Vegas (New Mexico), which threw the title into conflict. The Surveyor General of the United States persuaded Congress in 1860 to give Las Vegas 500,000 acres and Baca heirs the right to select, within a three year period, five 100,000 tracts out of the New Mexico Territory. This generous settlement reflected the view that southwestern land was but valueless desert. Four tracts were duly selected, but one remained unselected. A Dr. Perrin of San Francisco seized the opportunity, persuaded Congress he should acquire it, and after settling with Baca heirs, obtained fee simple title to 100,000 acres in northwestern Yavapai County. It's now owned by Bill Greene and Charles Wiswall. Other Baca Floats selected were a 12 1/2 mile square tract at Tumacocouri (#3); another near the Colorado/New Mexico border (#4), and the Pena Blanca in New Mexico where Luis Baca lived. An Indian soldier shot Baca (Wise offered no reason), and Baca made his will upon his deathbed. He granted the land to a son and Wise bought it, but the will was contested in probate court. Eventually, Wise succeeded in getting about 5,000 acres. And once again, the title was later vacated by the San Francisco Court of Appeals because "this fellow, Joseph W. Bailey owned the courts!" Bailey and his client then bought the north half and Watts Davis (? sp.) got the south half. That was in 1917. They sold the land to Sol Pendelton who became involved in a partnership with an incompetent but rich Indian woman who financed 1,700 head of heifers for him. But, she proved a difficult partner and he brought the arrangement to an end.
In 1887 Wise's father was deputy collector at Sasabe, and had a little ranch that Joe Wise ran. In 1889 the elder Wise and his wife moved in to Nogales where he was appointed consul to Mexico. So, Wise saw the early beginnings of Nogales, which at that time consisted mostly of a mescal distillery and the Montezuma Hotel. He was a member of the Territorial Militia and they practiced shooting down vacant Crawford Street toward the old smelter slag pile. Early settlers he remembers include Al Peck, Nelson, a German called Vill(? sp.). and the Etriums. Nogales was also situated upon an early Spanish land grant, the title of the American portion of town was held invalid, but the Mexicans government reaffirmed the title on their portion. Wise eventually bought an interest amounting to 56,000 acres in the American Ranch in Sonora from Governor Gandara. He said the name "Arizona" derives from a locality on that ranch. His son lives on the ranch now. Wise said his land investments in Nogales have turned out very favorably.
Wise also knew Louie Parker of Las Cruces, New Mexico who claimed he precipitated the Pleasant Valley war when he drove a band of the Daggs Brothers sheep into that area. Parker said 40 people were murdered. Some participants quit riding their horses because a mounted man was too visible; instead, they went afoot with a Winchester on their back. Wise saw the second trial of Edwin Tewksbury that was held in Tucson. Tewksbury was a tubercular, and the court realizing he had but limited life remaining, declared the charge against him justified homicide and released him. Once, Ed Tewksbury was hired to deliver 5,000 head of cows to Holbrook, resulting from a sale by Bob Pringle to Hall. The sale terms mentioned nothing about calves. And along the drive some 200 calves were born. Of course, Tewksbury could not drive the new-born calves, so the pairs were put to pasturage at the little community of Geronimo where Pringle cut out the calves, leaving Hall with the wet cows. An argument ensued. Pringle said he didn't sell Hall any calves; Hall maintained the calves were in, and therefore, part of the cows when he bought them. So to court they went (Wise gave no outcome). A 90% calf crop was not unusual in those days, Wise said, owing to the excellent feed then available on the virgin range of southern Arizona. Cattle thrived on the lush grass and they were all over the range. In the old days he remembers gathering 3,000 head of cattle and claimed one could collect 1,500 more on another drive through the tall grass. Sacaton grass grew taller than the cattle. And in the foothills, black and white gramma grass covered all the slopes. No mesquite brush was around Calabasas when he lived there and the few trees he saw were very large, in fact, those around the San Xavier Mission gave the appearance of an old, beautiful orchard. Introduction of cattle caused mesquite to dominate the range. Cattle ate those mesquite beans, passed the seeds out with manure, thus giving the new seedlings a good start, and mesquite became widely scattered all over the range. Now, mesquite brush shades the grass preventing it from flourishing as it once did. When Sacaton grass grew in the bottoms of arrollos very little water ran down them. But the Sacaton is now gone, and the denuded Santa Cruz channel, beginning as early as 1890, took but 5 or 6 years to become scoured out, deeply cut, entirely barren.
Calabasas alternated between settlement and desolation. Sykes was postmaster in the early days, and Joe Wise in its final days. After the army abandoned Ft. Crittenden, the town declined and died.(5)
The tape ends in mid-sentence with Wise saying he also knew John Slaughter. Met him once in Kansas City. Kansas was dry, you know, but I went in to get a drink . . .
1 Calabasas was located in Township 22 South, Range 13 East, at the junction of Sonoita Creek and the Santa Cruz River. An interesting history and description of this site is given by Byrd H. Granger, in Arizona's Names, X Marks the Place, (1st ed.; Tucson: The Falconer Publishing Company, 1983), pp. 108 and 109.
2 Another version of the origin of this grant, which is similar but differs in some details, is given by Granger. Ibid., pp. 108 and 634.
3 The original grant to this 12 !/2 mile square area was issued by the King of Spain in the 1500's to Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca, one of his captains who helped subdue the Indians of New Mexico. The correct name of this particular parcel is "Luis Maria Baca Land Grant No. 3." ibid., p.102.
4 The ORO Ranch
5 In November 1871, Blanchard and Sanders--the last two settlers at Calabasas--were killed by Apaches as the two men worked their fields. Ibid., p. 109.

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JOE WISE INTERVIEW
George Babbitt Collection, 57-9a
SYNOPSIS OF THE TAPE
Oral History No. 57-9a George Babbitt Collection
Tape: 1
Narrator: Joe Wise
Interviewer: George Babbitt
Place: Nogales, Arizona
Side: A
As a young man Joe Wise lived about two years in Tucson then the capital of Arizona Territory, a dusty settlement of about 4,000, 90% of which were Mexicans. In 1886 he and his father went to a little settlement south of Tucson called Calabasas1 where they each claimed homesteads on a former Spanish land grant known as the Calabasas, Tumacacori, and Guebavi. The grant had been acquired from Francisco Aguilar, brother-in- law of the president of Sonora, by a Colonel Sykes on behalf of a Boston based syndicate known as The Calabasas Mining and Cattle Company. It consisted of 54,000 acres plus 90,000 additional acres of grazing rights, originally issued by the king of Spain in 1807 to the Tumacacori Indians. (2) Other parties contested the homestead claim and Wise fought it through the courts, finally succeeding 30 years later at the Supreme Court level. The Boston syndicate also bought the San Xavier mine.
Sykes was born in New York City of English parents, and years later became the father-in-law of Joe Wise. In 1878, Sykes arrived at to Colonel Clay Hooker's Sierra Bonita Ranch where he acquired some horses and drove his buggy over to Calabasas. There, Skyes laid out a townsite on a mile square grid and built a hotel in 1880. He ran a drift 800 feet under a hill at Calabasas, to be known as Gold Hill. And by the mid-1880's Calabasas had attracted a population of 2,000. Wise came to Calabasas in 1886. When the Boston syndicate acquired the grant they thought Calabasas would be on the Mexican border. But when surveyed for the Gadsden Purchase acquisition it proved to lie about 10 miles north.
The objective of Syke's promotional venture was to develop agriculture and mining. To promote the area a party unknown distributed a prospectus extolling the virtues of investing in Calabasas land. It showed an illustration of "niggers loading cotton bales onto a steamboat on the Santa Cruz River." Embarrassed by such outrageous claim, Col. Sykes advertised in the Tucson Star newspaper that he'd pay $3,000 to anyone who could prove he was the instigator. None did. Sykes had brought with him very competent people from the east and from San Francisco. But Calabasas failed to prosper since it did not turn out to be the port of entry into Mexico; the railroad connecting Benson with Calabasas and to Guaymas went into receivership. Sykes then promoted and built a railroad called the Calabasas, Tucson and Northern. Joe Wise describes Sykes as a wonderful promoter, once having extracted $40,000 from an investor in San Francisco entirely by telegraph without requiring a single face-to-face meeting to do so. Subsequently, the promoter found a mine in Colorado at American Gulch that turned into a bonanza of silver production. He sold it for $200,000. Then on to New York to try his hand in the stock market while his wife became a secretary for Horace Greeley, an unsuccessful presidential candidate. But, Sykes' luck ran out while playing the stock market, and he found himself entirely unable to pay his servants.
Apaches were a constant menace in southern Arizona. And Sykes came close to falling victim to them once while camping not far from Fort Crittenden. About sundown a lone prospector approached his camp and Sykes invited him to share his campsite for the night. But the prospector preferred solitude, camped apart, and early next morning a passing band of Apaches found and, murdered him.
Wise said he narrowly escaped Geronimo's Apache band twice in 1886. The first when Apaches killed his neighbor, Charles Owens just west of Calabasas. Owens and Al Peck were out castrating a bull when Apaches caught them, first shooting Owens' horse, then killing Owens. But, Peck escaped death when a Mexican riding with the Apache band recognized him and persuaded the Apaches not to kill him. However, the Apaches did kill Peck's wife, as well as their baby, who they grabbed by the feet and dashed out its brains against a wall. This attack happened in 1886. "The nigger soldiers from the 25th Infantry under General Miles recovered the bodies." The second scare was when roving Apaches coming from the Empire Ranch camped at a tunnel very near Wise's house when he worked his copper mine at Helvetia, however, they did not attack him. Wise remembers the recovery from the Apaches of the 12-year-old sister-in-law of Peck. Apaches had kidnapped her, and when that band later surrendered to Lt. Lawton at Cananea she ran out of the Apache camp into the arms of the soldiers. Apaches killed many people in Pima County, their raids often spanning an enormous area. One band killed a mailman between Ft. Crittenden and Camp Washington, then went into the Santa Ritas at Greaterville, and to the Whetstome Mountains where they murdered a woodchopper, and then rode south to the San Pedro River at Palominas near Naco--all in one day! Once, Wise wanted to catch a certain steer so he concealed himself near a water hole where his cattle often drank. While he waited, an Indian with a red headband came riding along, stopped, and motioned for Wise to come down. Wise didn't think he was visible but the Indian had spotted him. Wise approached. And the Indian showed him a paper that stated he was a scout out of Ft. Huachuca trying to pick up Geronimo's trail.
Joe Wise well remembers Pete Kitchen, the fearless pioneer rancher. He first met Kitchen in Tucson when he was 17 and both were broke. The pair decided money could be had by a loan, so they persuaded Dave Henderson's bank to advance them $300. They co-signed a note at 2% interest per month, each taking half the net proceeds after Henderson first deducted the interest. Pete Kitchen had come into the country just after the American conquest of Mexico in 1848, before the Gadsden Purchase. Kitchen established his ranch along Potrero Creek about 4 or 5 miles north of Nogales. Later, the Calabasas Mining and Cattle Company bought Kitchen's ranch to get him off the land grant they had just purchased. Wise said he negotiated with Kitchen for it. The price was agreed at $84,000. The buyer arranged for Tucson merchants, W. W. Williams and Lord, to serve as receiver of the property, and when Williams asked Kitchen how much land he had, Kitchen replied "wherever my cattle graze, that's my land." By diligently drinking and gambling Kitchen managed to run through it all in three years.
Wise also recalls Colonel Charles Posten, the "presidente"of Tubac. Posten was a friend of Col. Sykes, often staying at Sykes hotel in Calabasas; Sykes had a bar with good whiskey and Posten liked good whiskey. Most of the early day settlers supported the Confederacy, that is, until the California Column of Union soldiers arrived and ran them out. The Army accused a Mr. Mowry, operator of a mine at Harshaw, of selling lead for bullets to the Confederates, but apparently never punished him for it.
Joe Wise also filed a 20 acre claim at Celero (? sp.), an old hacienda and smelter once operated by the Spanish. Although President Arthur signed his patent for it, settlement of the Baca Float litigation later deprived him of the title.
Side: B
Wise remembers more about Pete Kitchen: Kitchen built a fort atop his house with rifle portholes and shot the Indians as they raided his ranch. After a raid, he would pull out arrows the Apaches had drilled between the ribs of his cattle. Kitchen and his hired hands also raised hogs and supplied bacon to Ft. Crittenden. He had a Mexican wife, Ronquero, but no children. In those days Kitchen and another family were the only Americans with courage enough to endure Apache raids. They were the Benedicts, Albert and his sons, John and Jim; Albert was also married to a Mexican woman. After Albert died, their daughter, Mary, was adopted by the Proctor family, and she later became the wife of Bill Greene of Cananea. The Benedict ranch was about 4 miles west over on the Santa Cruz River, and was acquired by the Sykes group at the same time they bought out Kitchen.
Wise expands his description of fighting to gain clear title to land: After the Sykes group bought the Calabasas, Tumacacori, and Guebavi land grant both Wise and his father established homesteads upon it, but they didn't know Sykes at that time. His father got President Benjamin Harrison to set up a private land court to settle claimants to the grant. And many there were--some 2,000 in New Mexico and about 14 in Arizona. Hearings were held in Tucson and at Santa Fe. Judge Reed from Iowa presided, and a favorable decision was obtained, so Wise re-filed his homestead. Just 30 days later the decision was vacated due to a ruling in the Baca Float case. And 200 settlers had to get off the Baca Float land. Wise says the whole affair was "absolutely a steal." The courts were completely controlled by U. S. Senator Joe Bailey and (President) Woodrow Wilson, both Southerners, who appointed all the judges and they were prejudiced against the settlers. "You could see the Confederate flags floating in the courts from Washington to Tucson, and Tucson to California in the Court of Appeals! And they wouldn't let us go to the Supreme Court so we were whipped," The settlers had thought once the Americans had cleared Mexicans from the land it was simply vacant, public land available for homesteading. In 1825, the Province of Durango, as administrator of all land comprising the present southwestern states, granted title to 99,289 acres to one Luis Maria Cabeza de Baca, an old setter of New Mexico.(3) But, in 1827 title to the same land was granted to the town of Las Vegas (New Mexico), which threw the title into conflict. The Surveyor General of the United States persuaded Congress in 1860 to give Las Vegas 500,000 acres and Baca heirs the right to select, within a three year period, five 100,000 tracts out of the New Mexico Territory. This generous settlement reflected the view that southwestern land was but valueless desert. Four tracts were duly selected, but one remained unselected. A Dr. Perrin of San Francisco seized the opportunity, persuaded Congress he should acquire it, and after settling with Baca heirs, obtained fee simple title to 100,000 acres in northwestern Yavapai County. It's now owned by Bill Greene and Charles Wiswall. Other Baca Floats selected were a 12 1/2 mile square tract at Tumacocouri (#3); another near the Colorado/New Mexico border (#4), and the Pena Blanca in New Mexico where Luis Baca lived. An Indian soldier shot Baca (Wise offered no reason), and Baca made his will upon his deathbed. He granted the land to a son and Wise bought it, but the will was contested in probate court. Eventually, Wise succeeded in getting about 5,000 acres. And once again, the title was later vacated by the San Francisco Court of Appeals because "this fellow, Joseph W. Bailey owned the courts!" Bailey and his client then bought the north half and Watts Davis (? sp.) got the south half. That was in 1917. They sold the land to Sol Pendelton who became involved in a partnership with an incompetent but rich Indian woman who financed 1,700 head of heifers for him. But, she proved a difficult partner and he brought the arrangement to an end.
In 1887 Wise's father was deputy collector at Sasabe, and had a little ranch that Joe Wise ran. In 1889 the elder Wise and his wife moved in to Nogales where he was appointed consul to Mexico. So, Wise saw the early beginnings of Nogales, which at that time consisted mostly of a mescal distillery and the Montezuma Hotel. He was a member of the Territorial Militia and they practiced shooting down vacant Crawford Street toward the old smelter slag pile. Early settlers he remembers include Al Peck, Nelson, a German called Vill(? sp.). and the Etriums. Nogales was also situated upon an early Spanish land grant, the title of the American portion of town was held invalid, but the Mexicans government reaffirmed the title on their portion. Wise eventually bought an interest amounting to 56,000 acres in the American Ranch in Sonora from Governor Gandara. He said the name "Arizona" derives from a locality on that ranch. His son lives on the ranch now. Wise said his land investments in Nogales have turned out very favorably.
Wise also knew Louie Parker of Las Cruces, New Mexico who claimed he precipitated the Pleasant Valley war when he drove a band of the Daggs Brothers sheep into that area. Parker said 40 people were murdered. Some participants quit riding their horses because a mounted man was too visible; instead, they went afoot with a Winchester on their back. Wise saw the second trial of Edwin Tewksbury that was held in Tucson. Tewksbury was a tubercular, and the court realizing he had but limited life remaining, declared the charge against him justified homicide and released him. Once, Ed Tewksbury was hired to deliver 5,000 head of cows to Holbrook, resulting from a sale by Bob Pringle to Hall. The sale terms mentioned nothing about calves. And along the drive some 200 calves were born. Of course, Tewksbury could not drive the new-born calves, so the pairs were put to pasturage at the little community of Geronimo where Pringle cut out the calves, leaving Hall with the wet cows. An argument ensued. Pringle said he didn't sell Hall any calves; Hall maintained the calves were in, and therefore, part of the cows when he bought them. So to court they went (Wise gave no outcome). A 90% calf crop was not unusual in those days, Wise said, owing to the excellent feed then available on the virgin range of southern Arizona. Cattle thrived on the lush grass and they were all over the range. In the old days he remembers gathering 3,000 head of cattle and claimed one could collect 1,500 more on another drive through the tall grass. Sacaton grass grew taller than the cattle. And in the foothills, black and white gramma grass covered all the slopes. No mesquite brush was around Calabasas when he lived there and the few trees he saw were very large, in fact, those around the San Xavier Mission gave the appearance of an old, beautiful orchard. Introduction of cattle caused mesquite to dominate the range. Cattle ate those mesquite beans, passed the seeds out with manure, thus giving the new seedlings a good start, and mesquite became widely scattered all over the range. Now, mesquite brush shades the grass preventing it from flourishing as it once did. When Sacaton grass grew in the bottoms of arrollos very little water ran down them. But the Sacaton is now gone, and the denuded Santa Cruz channel, beginning as early as 1890, took but 5 or 6 years to become scoured out, deeply cut, entirely barren.
Calabasas alternated between settlement and desolation. Sykes was postmaster in the early days, and Joe Wise in its final days. After the army abandoned Ft. Crittenden, the town declined and died.(5)
The tape ends in mid-sentence with Wise saying he also knew John Slaughter. Met him once in Kansas City. Kansas was dry, you know, but I went in to get a drink . . .
1 Calabasas was located in Township 22 South, Range 13 East, at the junction of Sonoita Creek and the Santa Cruz River. An interesting history and description of this site is given by Byrd H. Granger, in Arizona's Names, X Marks the Place, (1st ed.; Tucson: The Falconer Publishing Company, 1983), pp. 108 and 109.
2 Another version of the origin of this grant, which is similar but differs in some details, is given by Granger. Ibid., pp. 108 and 634.
3 The original grant to this 12 !/2 mile square area was issued by the King of Spain in the 1500's to Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca, one of his captains who helped subdue the Indians of New Mexico. The correct name of this particular parcel is "Luis Maria Baca Land Grant No. 3." ibid., p.102.
4 The ORO Ranch
5 In November 1871, Blanchard and Sanders--the last two settlers at Calabasas--were killed by Apaches as the two men worked their fields. Ibid., p. 109.